Broken Bonds by Keri Arthur

Chapter Eleven

Idropped low and lashed out with one booted foot. Heard a sharp crack and saw the pale glimmer of a bone shard flying. The hone-onna screamed—a sound that was fury and pain combined—and then fled, her steps light but weirdly arrhythmic. I twisted around. Her form was shifting, changing, disappearing.

I thrust to my feet to go after her, then yelped as something lashed my cheek, leaving it stinging and burning. I swore, spun around, and saw a dark thread snapping back toward me. I thrust the shield between us and caught the end of the whip before it could strike my cheek a second time. The damn thing hit the shield so hard it forced me back a step before I caught my balance and resisted. Rather than withdrawing, the end of the whip crawled across the shield’s network of gold and silver threads, a deadly worm of power seeking a weakness to exploit. It wouldn’t find any, but I nevertheless pushed a fraction more energy into the shield and incinerated the fucker. Then I flung the whole damn shield toward the rotating mass of foreboding black and wrapped it around the dark threads, utterly encompassing them in a shining orb of silver and gold. As the two magics fought for dominance, I turned and charged after the hone-onna. She was no longer visible, but the taint of her darkness rode the air, a scent I could follow as easily as a wolf could prey.

I was very aware it might be a trap—or, at the very least, a means of separating me from Monty and Mia—but it wasn’t like I had many other options. If I didn’t take this chance and try to snare her, she’d continue to have the upper hand and more people would die.

I leapt across the water-filled ditch that ran along the side of the road and raced through the plowed field. My steps were fast and sure—fueled by adrenaline or perhaps even the wild magic that was changing my body—but the distance between us remained static.

I rather suspected that was deliberate on her part.

The cage spell remained around my left hand, but a sudden burst of caution had me weaving a repelling spell around my right.

If the first failed, I sure as hell would need the second.

I leapt over a rock, landed awkwardly on the soggy soil, and threw out my arms to catch my balance. My fingers brushed against something that was gossamer soft and sticky. For an instant I thought it was a spider’s web floating by on the breeze, but it was too late in the season for spiders to be ballooning.

Another web brushed by; I caught the tail of it in my fingertips, and my psychometry flared to life, whispering all manner of dark secrets.

These webs weren’t natural.

They were born of magic.

Dark magic.

Hermagic.

And once again they’d been designed to trap and hold rather than kill.

But why? Granted, it might be easier to test your skills against the strongest witch in the area if said witch was your captive, but that hardly made for good competition. But that wasn’t her intention here. Death was.

Just not my death.

Which wasn’t to say that if either the dark mess of magic or these gossamer webs had succeeded in grabbing me, she’d have released me, but for the moment, she simply wanted me out of the way so she could go after her assigned target.

Mia.

I swore, spun around, and ran like hell back across the field. As my feet flew, I dragged out my phone and called Monty. He didn’t immediately answer, and I cursed him a dozen different ways before he eventually did.

“Sorry, it was a bit involved getting Mia out of the car. Where are you?”

“In the other field. The hone-onna is looping around and coming back for Mia, and she’ll kill you if you get in her way.”

“Well, I sure as fuck won’t get out of her way.”

“I know, and I’m not asking you to, just—”

The rest of the sentence was lost to a scream. A woman’s scream. Mia’s.

“Monty?” I yelled. “What the hell is going on?”

He didn’t reply, but his magic surged, a fierce wave that burned my skin. It wasn’t a spell I knew, and it felt darker than anything he’d ever crafted before. It was a spell meant to destroy rather than protect and something he’d use only as a last resort.

I swore and reached for more speed, but I was never going to get there in time, and I knew it. I flung out a hand and called to the wild magic, praying like hell that the luminous thread I’d noticed earlier had remained close.

It had.

As it wrapped around my wrist, other threads came in, filling the air with their presence and their power. Their force energized me, making me feel I could run as fast as any wolf. Making me feel like I could fly.

Another scream.

Another surge of magic. Monty’s again, but weaker than before.

All but flying over the ground wasn’t going to cut it. If I didn’t do something right now, what I’d foreseen would come true.

I conjured a picture of Monty and Mia in my mind and then imagined a net of pure power around them, protecting them as my shield had protected me. I directed the image at the moonbeams that spun around me and then unleashed them.

Their response was so damn powerful that I was blown off my feet and ended up butt down in soggy soil. Pain shimmied up my spine, and a gasp escaped, but I nevertheless scrambled upright and chased after the moonbeams. I was never going to catch them, of course, but that didn’t really matter as long as the spell did its job and protected the two people ahead.

My heart now raced so damn hard, it felt ready to tear out of my chest, but I wasn’t sure whether it was fear, exertion, or the cost of casting the magic. Sweat beaded my skin, and each breath was a harsh rasp that raked my lungs. My vision was going in and out of focus, and energy seemed to be trickling away from my limbs so fast that I was beginning to shake.

The moonbeams, I realized abruptly. They were still connected to me, and were drawing down on my physical strength rather than that of the distant wellspring.

I unleashed the luminous sliver at my wrist. As it floated away, the draining sensation eased. My heart still raced too damn fast, and my lungs continued to burn, but both were more likely a result of my desperate flight across the field rather than the drain of the wild magic.

I scrambled up the embankment, digging my fingers into the soft soil to prevent slipping back. I had no idea whether my magic had been unleashed in time to protect Monty and Mia. For all I knew, they could be—

A fierce, unholy scream cut the thought dead.

If the hone-onna was venting her displeasure, that surely meant the shield had worked. Relief surged, even though I had no idea yet if Monty and Mia were okay or injured or worse …

I reached the asphalt, pushed upright, and ran across to the other side of the road. Mia’s car was now on its roof rather than its side, and one of the rear tires had melted. I couldn’t see the hone-onna or even Mia, but Monty stood on the far side of the upturned vehicle, unleashed magic burning all around his body.

Between him and the hidden spirit stood my moonbeam net. It had encased not just him but the entire car, and it was flexing and humming under a barrage of darker magic.

I might not be able to see our dark spirit, but she was definitely still here somewhere.

I slid to a halt, sending stones flying as I scanned the area through narrowed eyes. After a second, I caught an odd blurring in the air—it was the hone-onna’s concealment spell, briefly blotting out her immediate surrounds as she shifted position.

I unleashed the cage spell. She screamed in response and cast a spell of her own—one designed to destroy. It wasn’t cast at me but rather my spell. The two hit and exploded with enough force to briefly rock the car.

The blur that was the dark spirit moved again, this time running away rather than toward us. While I doubted it was another attempt to lure me away, I wasn’t about to give chase.

“Liz,” Monty shouted, “release your net! I can’t spell through it.”

I immediately did so. As the delicate fragments unwound and floated away, Monty unleashed his spell. It wasn’t a tracker; it was too dark, too dangerous, to be something so simple.

It tumbled across the field after the hone-onna and disappeared into distant trees.

“Did that hit?” I asked.

“Don’t think so.” He turned, his gaze briefly sweeping me and coming up relieved. His face was smudged with dirt, and blood trickled down the left side, but otherwise he looked okay. “That was a pretty impressive spell you unleashed—I’m kinda surprised you’re still upright.”

“So am I, to be honest. Where’s Mia? She okay?”

“I’m here and also upright.” She stood up from behind the car next to Monty, her hair a bird’s nest of mud and glass, and a multitude of small cuts over her face. “I wouldn’t mind an explanation as to what the hell just happened, though.”

“Later.” Monty lightly cupped her arm and led her around the upturned car. “Right now, we all need to get the hell out of here before that bitch returns.”

“What bitch?” Mia said, frustration evident. “I didn’t see anything or anyone. The damn tire exploded just before the car flipped onto its roof, and then you appeared to help me out.”

“So Aiden didn’t give you an explanation when he was talking to you?” I asked.

“No, he just said I was in danger and that I was to meet you and Monty along this road. But then, he’s never big on explaining anything.”

“Isn’t that the goddamn truth.” I reached down, grabbed her hand, and hauled her up the incline, then repeated the process for Monty. “I need to check the other car before we go anywhere.”

“Why?” he said.

“On the off chance our dark spirit wasn’t driving herself.”

“Dark spirit?” Mia’s expression was bemused.

“Yeah. You chose a hell of a time to reenter Aiden’s life, let me tell you.” Monty’s gaze returned to mine. “I’ll reverse the truck back. That way, we can nudge the car off the road if there’s no one in it.”

“As long as you’re careful not to scratch the truck in the process,” I said. “He will get annoyed if you do.”

Monty grinned. “I would say boys and their toys, but you’d no doubt throw a jibe about the Mustang in my face.”

“I certainly would, cousin dearest.”

He laughed, caught Mia’s elbow, and guided her over to the truck. I jogged back to the other upturned vehicle. The idiots with the hot pokers chose that moment to get busy in my head again, but I’d already taken one lot of painkillers, and there wasn’t a whole lot more I could do until I got back to the café. And, to be honest, if the headache was the only side effect of casting the moonbeams, I’d count myself damn lucky.

The top of the driver-side door had been partially crushed in the flip over, and as a result, the window had popped out and shattered. I kicked the glass aside, then knelt to peer inside. An unconscious woman was slumped in the driver seat.

She was a wolf rather than a human, and a member of the O’Connor pack, if her hair and scent were anything to go by. Which certainly explained how the hone-onna had gotten through the reservation’s gates unchallenged.

I reached in and carefully pressed a couple of fingers against her neck. Her pulse was a little thready, but otherwise strong. She’d been knocked out, but seemed to have escaped serious injury. Which didn’t, of course, mean there weren’t multiple internal injuries. I turned off the engine and then sat back on my heels and studied the rest of the car. There was no sign of fuel leakage and nothing to suggest the car was likely to catch fire or explode. While hanging upside down wouldn’t be pleasant—I knew that from personal experience—I also knew it was far safer for her to remain where she was until help got here—as long as her vital signs were monitored and the situation didn’t change in any way, of course.

I pulled out my phone, called in an ambulance, and then rang Aiden. His line was busy—maybe he was still connected to Monty’s phone—so I tried Tala instead.

It didn’t even have a chance to ring before she was on the line and asking, “Lizzie—is everyone okay?”

“Yes, but we’ve got an unconscious woman in the other car. I’ve called an ambulance, but I need a ranger up here ASAP. Monty and I can’t hang around, just in case the hone-onna decides to come back for another go at Mia.”

“Mac is already on the—” The rest of Tala’s comment was cut off as Aiden growled, “Are you all right?”

“For the most part, yes.”

“Which no doubt means you’re bruised, bleeding, or close to exhaustion.”

“Only one of those three is correct,” I said, a smile twitching my lips.

He sighed. It was a sound that was both relieved and frustrated. “Where are you taking Mia?”

I hesitated. “I’m not actually sure. This thing is damn strong, Aiden.”

“Stronger than four witches combined?”

“Possibly.” I glanced up as the wail of a siren bit through the silence. An SUV appeared in the distance, red and blue lights flashing. “Mac’s almost here. I’ll call again when we find a safe house.”

“Okay.” He paused. “Is Mac going to be safe out there alone?”

“I think so. This thing isn’t going after randoms, Aiden. It has specific targets, and it doesn’t appear to be deviating.”

“Is that why you think I’m also in danger? Because she appears to be going after both parties involved in the extramarital activities?”

“Yes.”

He grunted. “Then let’s hope the charm you made stops this thing, because there’s no way known I’m getting locked up with Mia.”

“Why? Don’t you trust yourself not to fall back in love with her?”

It was out before I could stop it, and I winced. He’d already said he could never forgive someone who’d so readily betrayed his trust, and I had no right—and no reason—to doubt that.

But sometimes the inner green demon popped up before I could stomp her back down.

He made a low rumbly sound that had the tiny hairs on the back of my neck rising. “Even suggesting that is offensive, Liz.”

I sighed. “I know, and I’m sorry. It’s just—” I waved a hand, though he couldn’t see it. “This whole situation is just getting to me.”

“Which is why we need to talk.”

“But will it actually achieve anything?” I didn’t give him a chance to answer that, but rushed on to add, “Look, Mac is here. I’ll call later.”

And then I hung up.

He didn’t call back. He probably knew I wouldn’t answer.

I touched the unconscious woman’s neck again, just to be sure nothing had changed, then glanced around as Aiden’s truck pulled to a halt a few meters away.

Monty jumped out and walked over. “There is a driver, I take it?”

I nodded. “An O’Connor wolf. I don’t think she’s badly hurt—not by the hone-onna, at any rate.”

Monty squatted and peered in through the window. “There are a few minor threads of magic caught in her hair, but they’re the remnants of a control spell rather than anything more serious.”

“That’s what I figured.” I pushed to my feet. “Do you want to keep an eye on her while I hunt around for a bit of bone?”

“Bone?”

“It came off the hone-onna’s leg when I kicked her. If I can find it, I might be able to use my psychometry to find her.”

“It would certainly be a whole lot faster than my spell.”

“If it works. No guarantee that it will.”

“No guarantee that it won’t, either.”

“True that.”

I walked back to the spot where I’d been attacked and then tried to remember the direction the shard had speared off to. After a moment, I headed to the edge of the road, slid down the slope, and then paused again, drawing in the air, searching for the scent of darkness. I didn’t find it, but I did find the smell of blood. It was only faint, but it was nevertheless noticeable—at least to my newly sharpened olfactory sense.

I followed my nose several yards to the right and then bent. Caught in the spiky branch of a scotch thistle was a bloody bit of bone. I grabbed a tissue from my pocket and carefully retrieved it. Even though there was no direct contact between the bone and my skin, my psychometry talent once again stirred to life. There were secrets to be mined from this bit of bone.

I hesitated, then tightened my grip around it. The tissue made for a slightly fuzzy connection, but I wasn’t overly worried about that given what I was dealing with. For all I knew, the hone-onna might have deliberately shed this bit of bone in the hope that I’d pick it up. Maybe she wanted to use it to find me just as I did her.

And yet it wasn’t a location that rose, but rather the image of a woman. She had crimson hair, silver eyes that gleamed with power, and a mark that ran down her face and ended in an odd sort of hook near her mouth.

For one horrible instant, I thought it was a maker’s mark, which would have meant she was either a dark sorcerer or the apprentice of one. But the image shifted—sharpened—and it became clear that it was just an ill-healed scar. She had three more near her collarbone, though they resembled the slashes of a large cat. Or maybe a disgruntled spirit.

This, I suspected, was the witch who’d called the hone-onna into the reservation. I had no idea if she was a full-blood royal witch or not, but she was definitely someone who’d been well trained. She might not be a dark sorcerer, per se, but she was definitely walking that line.

What the shard of bone wasn’t telling me was whether someone had paid to unleash vengeance, or if she too was a woman betrayed.

I pulled another tissue from my pocket, wrapped it around the bone fragment to provide more of a buffer between it and me, then carefully placed the bundle in the breast pocket of my coat and scrambled back up the hill.

Mac had pulled up in front of the upturned car and was now walking toward Monty.

“The ambulance is only a few minutes behind me,” he said. “Are we dealing with any serious injuries?”

“The driver is unconscious, but there’re no obvious external injuries,” Monty replied. “The hone-onna has left the area, so you should be safe. Unless, of course, you’re married and cheating on your partner.”

“A wolf stupid enough to stray is a wolf who’d be nutless pretty damn quick.” A smile tugged at Mac’s lips. “I’m under strict orders not to delay you two, so you’d better go.”

I nodded and retreated to Aiden’s truck, climbing into the passenger side while Monty jumped into the driver seat. With the upturned car blocking the road, we had to head in the opposite direction for a couple of klicks to find a road that would take us back to Castle Rock.

“Any luck?” Monty asked.

“Yes indeed. But a quick scan provided expected results. It appears our hone-onna—”

“Okay, I think I’ve been extremely patient about all this,” Mia cut in. “But really, what the hell is going on? And what the fuck is a hone-onna?”

“It’s a dark spirit,” Monty said. “It’s been called into the reservation to hunt and kill those who break their marriage vows and have an affair.”

“Then why the hell is it coming after me? I was never married.”

“In most Australian States, a de facto couple holds many of the same rights as a married couple,” I said.

“Many isn’t all.”

“Semantics generally don’t matter to dark spirits.”

“So the thing that hit my car and sent me into that ditch was the dark spirit?”

“A dark spirit in a car, yes” Monty said.

“But how is it possible to make an entire car invisible?”

“She was using magic to conceal it.”

“Huh.” She paused. “So, what happens next?”

“Well, first up,” Monty said, “We’re going to the hospital to get you checked over.”

“I’ve already told you—I shifted shape, and I’m perfectly fine.”

“That may well be true,” I said, “but we’ve learned the hard way it’s always better to be safe than sorry after such an accident.”

“So speaks a witch with no real understanding of wolf physiology.”

“That witch,” Monty growled, “just saved your goddamn life, so cut the patronizing crap.”

“And I’ve also been in a serious relationship with Aiden for over six months now,” I added. “So I actually have a pretty good idea about all things wolf.”

“You could never—” She bit the rest of the sentence off and sighed. “Sorry, I don’t mean to sound ungrateful or patronizing. But it’s not easy to walk into a situation that’s totally the opposite of what I’d been told to expect. I can only imagine how difficult this all is for you, Liz. In fact, had the situation been reversed, I’m not entirely sure I would have been as understanding and as compassionate.”

“Oh, trust me,” I murmured, “I’m a little bit surprised by it all myself.”

She half laughed. “What happens once the hospital gives me the all-clear then?”

“We’ll take you and Aiden into protective custody,” Monty said.

“Oh, I can just imagine his response to that.”

Her voice was droll, and I couldn’t help smiling. “It doesn’t take any imagination at all, trust me.”

“If this spirit is so bad,” she said. “Why didn’t you just kill it when it was attacking us? I take it that’s what was happening when you had me crouching down beside the car.”

“Because,” Monty said, “she’s not only cunning, but probably stronger magically than either of us.”

Which was true only as long as I didn’t call on the wild magic. But given my growing connection to the wellspring, using it to do anything more than capture the hone-onna was absolutely out of the question. The last thing we wanted or needed was death forever staining the purity of the wild magic.

“Well,” Mia muttered, “that doesn’t fill me with a whole lot of hope.”

“Luckily for you,” I said, “we’re not the only witches on the reservation.”

Monty glanced at me. “You might want to check with Ashworth and Eli first before you start dobbing them in for protection detail.”

“I will, but do you honestly think they’d refuse, given the situation?”

He raised his eyebrows, amusement evident. He knew I wasn’t talking about the hone-onna’s attacks but rather Mia herself. Questions would be asked, both subtly and not.

“But even if they’re unable to help,” I continued, “we still need to talk to them. It was a dark witch who unleashed this hell on us. A royal dark witch.”

Monty’s gaze snapped to mine again. “Seriously?”

I nodded. “I know the council has a register of witches who stray into the dark side of magic, and Ashworth has the connections to arrange a search ASAP.”

“That might take more time than we have, but definitely worth a shot.” He pulled into the hospital parking lot and stopped. “We’ll head in. Do you want to contact Ashworth?”

I nodded, waited until they were safely inside the Emergency Department, and then did so.

“It’s far too early in the afternoon for you to be ringing about an excess of cake,” he said, tone amused, “so that obviously means there’s a problem. Are we talking big or small?”

“Both,” I said with a smile.

“Then you’d better hit me with the smaller one first while I sit down for the other.”

I laughed. “Monty and I just rescued Mia from the hone-onna, and we were wondering if you and Eli could protect her and Aiden for a few days.”

“Mia and Aiden? You’re not setting yourself up for heartbreak much, are you?”

“Aiden swears he would never resume their relationship, and I believe him.”

“Which was a neat sideways step on the heartbreak comment.”

“And you know why.”

He sighed. “I do. But I am at heart a romantic soul who keeps hoping this one will turn out.”

“All good romances eventually do,” I said, keeping my voice deliberately light. “But there’s always a black moment, when the whole thing goes to shit, and there’s never a guarantee that things will work out.”

And sometimes, in the books that were often called romances but were actually love stories, a happy ending definitely wasn’t on the cards. Ever.

Despite all my psi skills, I had absolutely no idea whether my story would in the end be a romance or a love story.

“What’s the second request?” Ashworth said.

“I managed to pick up a bit of the hone-onna’s bone—”

“Did you now,” he cut in. “That is interesting.”

I frowned. “Why?”

“Because the hone-onna is a spirit—”

“A skeleton spirit, which means they do have bones.”

“A technicality, and one that is actually up for debate. I’ve been reading up on them, and there are many who believe their skeletal presence is no more real than the other forms they can project.”

“They’re real enough to have sex—just ask their victims. And I can absolutely confirm that they do have bones, because when I kicked her leg, it was definitely solid and she definitely yelped.”

“Just because they can attain a form doesn’t mean they can maintain it permanently,” he said. “And let’s be honest here, a mere kick should not have caused a piece of bone to shear off like that. If it did, then it’s because she wished it. I take it you now possess said bone?”

“I do, but why would she deliberately lose a chunk of leg? Surely she couldn’t track me through it?”

“With dark spirits, one never knows, but it is unlikely. Did you get any reaction when you touched it?”

“I did, and that’s the other reason I’m ringing. I saw a woman I suspect is the witch who called the hone-onna into our lives.”

“And that is again very interesting.”

“Because?”

“Because it suggests she might not be a willing participant in this hunt.”

“A summoning is by its very nature a means of bending a dark spirit or a demon to your will. Doesn’t that imply most aren’t willing participants?”

“It depends on the practitioner and the words used in the summoning spell. Those who wish a longer life would never deign to treat spirits or demons as anything less than equals.”

“I’m betting there’s plenty of sorcerers who wouldn’t agree with that statement.”

“And most of them end up dead.”

Like the one who’d killed my sister and who almost succeeded in taking my life. Though his body had never been found, plenty of his blood had. The high council had eventually declared that the demons he’d trafficked with had taken advantage of his weakened state and torn him apart.

My psi dreams had been telling me for years this wasn’t true, but then, my psi dreams also tended to be overly dramatic.

“Even if the hone-onna is an unwilling participant in the hunt, why would she be showing me the witch? Why wouldn’t she just go about her bloody business and then move on?”

“It is not unknown for witches who tread the dark path to be so twisted by the magic they call into being that their ability to think logically deserts them.”

“Which is a roundabout way of saying … what?”

He laughed. “It could be that this witch has decided there is no end game. Perhaps she has decided that all cheaters must pay, not just the person the hone-onna was summoned to hunt.”

A chill went through me. That certainly appeared to be what was happening now. “But surely the longer the witch holds the hone-onna’s leash, the greater the chances of her slipping up? No witch can hold a spell—or a spirit—for long. It’ll sap your strength and eventually kill.”

I knew that from the few times Belle had summoned dark spirits.

“If she used her own magic, yes. But if she uses blood magic, then no. All she’d have to do is refresh the sacrifice, and the spirit remains on the leash.”

“How hard would it be to find her circle?”

“On a scale of one to ten, it’d be fifteen.”

I laughed. “If I send you a description, would you be able to arrange a search through the high council’s dark witch register and see if she’s there?”

“Of course, but there is a strong possibility she won’t be. Few witches strong enough to summon such a spirit would be caught in a backwater such as this.”

“You moved into this backwater, remember.”

“Because I’m close to retirement and people I care about happen to live here.”

“Not to mention the lure of unforgettable cakes and scones.”

He laughed. “There are a couple of witches who sneak in ahead of them, but only by a smidge.”

“I’m sure Monty will be pleased to hear that.”

“You know well enough who I mean, lass. But enough of this guff—why do you think the summoner remains here? Did you get more than just an image when you picked up the bone?”

“No, but she’s got the coloring of a royal witch, and she’s around my age.”

“That doesn’t explain why you believe—”

“It does,” I cut in, “if the hone-onna saw me from a distance and thought I was the witch who’d summoned her.”

“Possible, but the leash really should have told her you were not holding the other end.”

“What if the leash is tied to the altar rather than the witch?”

“Again possible.”

“It would not only explain the rollover, but also why she’d run from Monty and me rather than magically combatting us. If she’d believed I was the one holding her leash, she wouldn’t have dared risk a direct attack.”

“Spirits can attack aplenty if they get desperate or angry enough.”

“This one isn’t desperate. She’s just furious.”

“Which makes her all the more dangerous, lass.”

“All dark spirits are dangerous, but I think this one is willing to negotiate.”

He snorted. “It’s never wise to negotiate one on one with darkness, because it rarely ends well. That’s why the leashes are employed.”

“This one saved a kid, Ashworth. A human kid. I’m willing to bet that she’d be happy to leave this reservation in exchange for her freedom.”

He was silent for a second. “While I never advocate allowing darkness to walk free, perhaps in this case it might be worth investigating.”

“It’s a better option than trying to track and kill the hone-onna.”

“I think you’ll find the witch won’t be any easier to take down.”

“Yeah, but at least she’s human.”

“Which won’t give us any edge. Not if we’re dealing with a full-blood royal witch gone rogue.” He paused, and then added in a sterner tone, “And if we are, you are not to hunt her alone. It might well take the four of us to cage her.”

“There’s one problem in that statement—we can’t risk leaving Mia or Aiden unattended.”

“Don’t you mean unprotected?”

I grimaced at the slip of the tongue. It seemed that for all my protestations of trust, there was some inner—probably green—streak that didn’t. Or maybe I just didn’t trust fate not to throw another spanner in the works. “Of course I do.”

He chuckled softly. “This place is safe enough from the likes of a hone-onna on a short-term basis. But I’d nevertheless advise against any attempt to read that bone here. As much as I’d be interested in seeing the results firsthand, it might well draw us to the attention of the hone-onna and the royal witch.”

“I wasn’t intending to.” Our café was the safest place in the entire reservation when it came to dealing with—or even seeking—spirits of any kind, thanks to the protections around it and the reading room. And the latter had been specifically designed with darker forces—no matter what type—in mind.

“Good.” He paused. “How exactly are you going to convince Aiden to remain here? Because we both know what his instinctive response will be.”

“I’ve broached the subject, and he did refuse. But his only other choice is to stay at the café, and I really don’t want to risk drawing the hone-onna there.”

“A statement I rather suspect is both the truth and a lie,” Ashworth commented.

The man was too canny for my own good sometimes. I sighed. “There’re already too many good memories of him and me there, Ashworth. I don’t need any more battering my senses if our relationship goes ass up.”

“A point I can understand, but one I doubt he will. The man has a deep aversion to confronting the emotional side of life.”

“Only with non-werewolves,” I muttered, then quickly added, “I’m not sure when we’ll get there—Mia was involved in a car rollover, so we’re currently at the hospital getting her checked out.”

“That’s no problem, as neither of us are going anywhere.”

“Thanks, Ashworth.”

He bid me goodbye and hung up. I shoved the phone away then opened the glove compartment and raided the stash of chocolate and energy bars Aiden kept there specifically for me. A couple of Picnic bars at least toned down the idiots in my head but didn’t do much against the growing wave of tiredness. I locked the doors, then grabbed my coat, balled it up, and propped it against the window to use as a pillow. I was asleep within minutes.

A sharp rapping on the window startled me awake hours later. A squeak of surprise escaped, and I sat bolt upright, blinking rapidly for several seconds while my mind scrambled to shake sleep and start functioning.

“Sorry,” Aiden said from the driver side of the truck. “Didn’t mean to frighten you.”

I leaned across and unlocked the door. “Then you shouldn’t have pounded the window so damn hard.”

“I very lightly tapped a fingernail. That’s hardly pounding.” He jumped in, then leaned across the center console, wrapped a hand around my neck, and held me still while he kissed me very, very thoroughly. “You taste like chocolate.”

“I raided the stash.”

“Then I shall restock tomorrow.” His gaze scanned mine. “How’s that headache?”

I raised an eyebrow. “How do you know I have a headache?”

“Your eyes get bloodshot when things are bad. Did you take anything stronger than Panadol?”

“Didn’t have anything stronger.”

“Then I’ll add that to the stash.” He pulled back. “I’ve been in to see Mia. They’re still waiting for the final clearance from the doctors, but they shouldn’t be much longer. Have you decided where she’s going?”

“Not just her—”

“I will not go into hiding—”

“It’s not hiding, and if it were anyone else in your team, you’d be demanding they stop being childish and just do it.”

Annoyance flashed through his expression. He did not like being called out. “True.”

“And it might not be for very long anyway,” I added. “We’ve got a fragment of bone from the hone-onna—”

“How the hell did you get that?”

“I kicked her.”

“That must have been a hell of a kick.”

“Ashworth seems to think the fracture was deliberate.”

“Why on earth would she deliberately break off a bit of limb?”

“That is the million-dollar question.” I shrugged. “Anyway, it’s possible we can use it to track either the witch responsible for the curse or the hone-onna herself. But to do either, I need to know you’re safe.”

He blew out a breath. “Fine. Twenty-four hours, then. No more.”

I leaned forward and kissed him. “Thank you.”

He rolled his eyes. “It was either give in or have you nag me for the next twenty-four hours.”

“Very true.”

He snorted. “So where are we spending our time in protective custody? The café? It’s the safest spot around here, isn’t it?”

“It is,” I said, and repeated the earlier half-lie I’d told Ashworth. “You’ll both be staying with Ashworth and Eli.”

“Where he can keep an eye and ear on Mia and me and report back?” he asked, his mild tone at odds with the deepening annoyance.

“You know Ashworth would never do something like that.”

“I know of no such thing. Ashworth basically considers you the granddaughter he never had, and he’ll certainly have something to say about anyone who hurts you.”

I raised my eyebrows. “Which won’t happen in this particular case because you and Mia are finished, are you not?”

“We are.” His gaze searched mine. “You know I’d never lie about something like that, don’t you?”

“I do.” And I did. But Mia wasn’t the real problem here; she was just a flesh-and-blood representation of it. “Has the team had a chance to talk to the other exes yet?”

“A rather unsubtle change of direction there, Liz.”

“I’m not in the mood for deep and meaningful tonight.”

He looked ready to argue, but in the end, simply said, “Yes. All swear they went nowhere near a witch.”

“And none of them were witches themselves?”

“Not that I know of, but you lot can magic away those tells, can’t you?”

I nodded. “Did any of them have a nasty scar down the side of their face?”

“No.” He frowned. “Why?”

“Because when I picked up the bit of bone from the hone-onna’s leg, I saw the image of a witch who is probably responsible for her presence here in the reservation. From a distance, she looks like me.”

“And is that why the hone-onna attacked you?”

“Possibly. We’re going to use the bit of bone in an attempt to track the witch.”

“How? It’s from the hone-onna, not the witch.”

“Yes, but if the witch I saw is responsible for the hone-onna’s presence here in the reservation, then she’ll have some kind of controlling leash around her creature. If I can make a connection with the hone-onna, I might be able to trace that leash back to the witch’s location.”

“That’s a few too many ifs for my liking.”

“And mine, but we have to try, otherwise more people are going to die.”

He did not look happy but didn’t offer any more arguments either. Perhaps he knew the futility. “I take it you’re going to attempt that after you drop us off at Ashworth’s?”

I hesitated and then shook my head. “I’ve a booming headache, so it’s probably better to wait until the morning.”

“And if the hone-onna—or the witch who controls her—doesn’t give you that option?”

“We’ll deal with it.” I paused. “How’s your brother? Any improvement since yesterday?”

“If you don’t want to talk about it, just say so, Liz. Don’t change the goddamn subject like that.”

I sighed. “Aiden, what else did you want me to say? You know we can’t predict what will happen. You know we’ll be as well prepared as we possibly can be. And we’re both well aware that your annoyance stems not from my changing the subject but the fact that you can’t be there, despite knowing full well your presence at the reading attempt could well endanger us all.”

A muscle ticked in his cheek for several long seconds, then he looked away. “You’re right, of course. But it’s natural for a wolf to protect their pack—”

“I’m not pack,” I cut in softly. “And never will be.”

“You’re in a relationship with me,” he growled. “That makes you part of my pack.”

“But only peripherally. And only when it doesn’t involve your ‘real’ pack.”

“Neither fact negates the truth of what I said. Damn it, Liz, you know how I feel about you.”

“Yes, but I’m beginning to wonder if the same can be said about you.”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

“You know what it means.” I glanced around at the sound of footsteps and saw Monty and Mia walking toward us. “I think we’d better finish this discussion at a better time.”

“As you’ve noted, is there ever going to be a better time? I get the feeling you’re now intent on avoiding it.”

“And you would be right, but only because I’d rather get through this disaster before I embark on another.”

“We’re hardly a disaster, Liz. Quite the opposite, in fact.”

“Your mother would disagree.”

“My mother can take a long jump off a very short pier. As I keep telling you, she doesn’t control my life.”

“While in the end that might be true, pack life and expectations always will.”

“I cannot change what I am.”

“I’m not asking you to.”

“Then what the hell are you asking?”

“Nothing.” Everything. I forced a smile and glanced around as Monty opened the door for Mia and she climbed into the back seat. “You okay?”

“I said I would be.” Her nostrils flared and her gaze narrowed. “I’m sensing a little tension in the air here.”

“That’s natural, given what we’re dealing with.” I switched my gaze to Monty as he climbed into the other side of the truck. “Ashworth has given the all clear for his place to be used as a refuge.”

“Ah,” Mia murmured. “That would no doubt explain the tension. Our alpha is displeased.”

“Over more than just this situation.” Aiden fired up the truck and reversed out. The headlights came on automatically, casting the evening shadows from the road. “But I meant what I said earlier, Mia.”

“Oh, on that I’m left with no doubt.” Her voice was dry. “Especially given your mother rescinded her invitation this morning. Courtesy and good manners appear to be seriously lacking amongst the O’Connor pack alphas.”

“Perhaps we just don’t enjoy being played.”

“I wasn’t the one playing games; not this time.”

“I’m aware of that.”

“And yet you’re still bitterly angry at me. Why is that, Aiden? Is my presence forcing you to confront the realities you’ve been side-stepping?”

I sucked in a breath. Mia wasn’t exactly holding back, but I could understand why, given the situation she’d found herself in. Granted, if she’d understood anything at all about Aiden she would have known he’d have never issued that invitation or rescinded his rejection of her, but I guess they’d both been a lot younger when they’d been together. How many of us really understood relationships in our early twenties? Hell, I didn’t understand them now.

“I’m not side-stepping anything.” His voice was only a fraction above a growl. “And I’ll kindly ask that you keep your opinions on situations you don’t understand to yourself.”

Mia snorted. “And there, in one sentence, is the alpha ostrich in full display.”

Never in a million years would I have thought the wolf who’d once held his heart would be fighting on the same side as me. Although in truth, she wasn’t so much supporting me as pushing him to face his responsibilities both to the pack and his parents.

Silence fell, though it was a far from comfortable one. Ashworth and Eli were in for a fun twenty-four hours if the current wash of emotions was anything to go by.

Aiden pulled up in front of Ashworth’s cute cottage but left the engine running. “I take it you and Monty aren’t coming in?”

I shook my head. “I need to go home and rest. We’ll do the reading on the bone in the morning.”

“Let me know how it goes.”

He opened the door and jumped out before I could answer and without a kiss goodbye. Part of me wondered if it’d simply slipped his mind, or if Mia’s presence—the fact that she was a wolf, even if not from his pack—was the problem. He’d never been one for overt public displays, and I’d always put that down to his nature and professionalism. But what if it was neither? What if it was, in fact, due more to my humanity? I wasn’t pack, so therefore public displays of affection were considered … unwarranted. You couldn’t publicly claim what you had no intention of keeping.

Mia climbed out of the truck and followed Aiden through the gate and onto the covered porch. Ashworth opened the door as they approached and then stepped to one side and bid them enter. He gave me a wave and a thumbs-up. Aiden was right about one thing—nothing untoward would be happening under Ashworth’s watchful eye. Not even an argument.

Monty reclaimed the driver seat and, after waiting for some traffic to pass, turned around and headed back to the café. “What time do you want us there for the reading in the morning?”

I hesitated. “Sevenish? That’ll still give us plenty of time to get the café ready if the reading turns out to be a bust.”

He nodded. “You’re not going after this thing alone—you do realize that, don’t you?”

I couldn’t help a chuckle. “I’ve already had that particular lecture from Ashworth. Besides, I’m not that stupid.”

“I know, but there’s nevertheless a reckless streak in you, and if something happened overnight, you’d be out investigating immediately rather than waiting for the rest of us.”

I raised my eyebrows. “What makes you think something will happen overnight?”

“Because something always does when you least expect it in this place.”

“Well, I’ll be praying to any god that’s listening that is not the case. I need my beauty sleep.” Devilment stirred, and a smile twitched my lips. “Not that you’d know much about that of late.”

“A truth I cannot deny,” he said. “And long may it continue.”

I snorted and unclipped the seat belt as he pulled up in front of the café. “You coming in?”

He shook his head. “Got a message as we were leaving the hospital—Belle’s cooking tea as we speak.”

“Then I’ll see you both in the morning. But please, do be careful with Aiden’s truck.”

“Have no fear—I shall treat it as gently as I treat the Mustang.”

I snorted, grabbed my gear, and climbed out. After waving goodbye, I pulled out my keys and opened the front door.

But as I stepped over the threshold, I felt it.

Darkness. Death.

And once again, it was behind me.